Technology – An ally in the shelter movement

Posted: Monday, May 26th, 2014

Did you know that nearly 8 out of 10 Canadians are now online? You may not be too surprised. We live in an era where we’re surrounded by technology on a daily basis. Social media, email, and smartphones have all become the norm in how we communicate with one another.

This scary trend of using technology to perpetrate violence has led us to think of creative ways to reclaim technology and use it to make positive impacts on the lives of women experiencing violence.

For example, we use Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Tumblr to spread the word about our shelter and programs in order to reach a wider audience.

We’ve even found a way to make our website safe to use!

Women are in the most danger when they try to leave their abuser. Knowing this, we made sure that our website has a “Panic button” feature. This allows women who visit our website looking for information, to quickly switch to the Google browser if they need to.

We use technology and social media to help us to spread our message, and to better serve the women who come to our centre. But we’re not done yet! We’re always looking for new and innovative ways to use technology to help us reach out to more women than ever before.

Want to get involved? Send us your ideas on how we can use technology to help women and their children suffering from abuse to info@intervalhouse.ca. And don’t forget to check back next week for the next article in the series to learn the signs of electronic violence against women.